Tuome reopens on 5th Street for takeout and delivery

Tuome, 536 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B, returned to service yesterday for the first time since the PAUSE in March.

For now, the Michelin-starred restaurant is open for takeout and delivery Tuesday-Saturday 5-9 p.m.

Thomas Chen, an accountant turned cook/chef, opened Tuome — billed as serving "contemporary American cuisine with Asian influences" — in August 2014. He worked his way up through the kitchen ranks at Eleven Madison Park before Tuome.

Tuome joins Lavagna and Minca Ramen Factory in dining offerings on this stretch of Fifth near B. On Sept. 3, Ace Bar will reopen with curbside drinks and food.

Thursday's parting shot

Earlier today in Tompkins Square Park... photo by Derek Berg...

Grant Shaffer's NY See

Here's the latest NY See panel, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood...

A visit to Anyway Cafe

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

The faint strains of music reach me as I cross over Second Avenue at Second Street to visit Anyway Cafe, 34 E. Second St., the subterranean Russian restaurant known for its infused house-made vodkas and cozy artist-friendly atmosphere that offers free live background music for diners.

The cafe, which opened in late July after the COVID-19 PAUSE, has been in this location for more than 25 years, a time that has seen music lovers gather here to eat Russian-French fusion small plates and sample the creative vodka-based cocktails.



At Anyway, I talk with its audio engineer, Charlie Martin, who previously worked as chief audio and booking agent at CBGB as well as producing and engineering content for Queen Latifah, the Clash and others, to view some of his archival Anyway Stories. He’s been recording and filming the various musical acts showcased at Anyway Cafe over the years and is eager to share samples, which we view on his phone.





We listen to tonight’s Latin music and classics by Yael & Gabriel (Yael Dray-Barel and Gabriel Hermida) as more patrons arrive on this Friday evening to the new (covered) curbside seating, painted by Charlie Hudson, and spacious by social distancing standards. Meanwhile, plates of pelmeni, caviar and crepes arrive for diners as well as their signature martinis. Manager Natasha Stolichnayana even brings out some of her famed horseradish vodka.






[Natasha with a bottle of horseradish-infused vodka]



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You can keep up with Anyway Cafe on Facebook. Anyway Cafe is at 34 E. Second St. at Second Avenue. (212) 533-3412.

Sales launch for condos at site of deadly 2nd Avenue explosion

Sales are now underway at 45 E. Seventh St., the 7-story, 21-unit condoplex on the northwest corner of Second Avenue — the site of the deadly gas explosion on March 26, 2015 that leveled three buildings, 119, 121 and 123 Second Ave.

Here are details about the Morris Adjmi-designed building — dubbed No45e7 — and units via Real Estate Weekly, who first reported on the sales:

Each unit has oversized windows, high-efficiency central VRF heating and cooling and is pre-wired for smart home features including shades, lighting, sound and intercom.

The building offers a common roof terrace, fitness center, landscaped garden terrace, residents’ laundry room, private storage rooms and bicycle storage. Carson, a virtual doorman, tracks deliveries, service requests, intercom calls, and visitors while providing live HD video of each entry and a payment system to compliment the staffed doorman, all through an app.

Prices will range from approximately $1.35 million for one-bedroom, $1.995 million to $4 million for two- and three-bedrooms, going up to $8.3 million for the penthouse.

There will also be ground-floor retail.

And a few images...





In response to launching sales during the pandemic, in which apartment sales in Manhattan have hit their lowest point in nearly 20 years, a spokesperson for the developer, Shaky Cohen's Nexus Building Development Group, told Real Estate Weekly: "While many developers may be hesitant to launch during the current pandemic, Nexus Development is confident of the market recovery and that their product offers the exact level of safety, space and comfort to give buyers confidence in a post-COVID world."

As for some history here: In the spring of 2017, Nexus Building Development Group paid $9.15 million for the empty lots at No. 119 and No. 121 that landlord Maria Hrynenko owned.

In a previously recorded transaction, Ezra Wibowo paid $6 million for the adjacent property at 123 Second Ave. that was owned by a different landlord who had no role in the explosion. There isn't any development planned there for now, according to previous reports.

In January, Hrynenko, contractor Dilber Kukic and unlicensed plumber Jerry Ioannidis were found guilty of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and related offenses for their role in the blast. They were each sentenced to four to 12 years in prison. Hrynenko is out on bail as she awaits an appeal of the case.

Hrynenko, who took over ownership of the buildings after her husband Michael died in 2004, and her cohorts rigged an illegal system to funnel gas from 119 Second Ave. to 121 Second Ave. to cut corners, according to prosecutors.

The property will include a commemorative plaque that honors the two men who died here on March 26, 2015: Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón. In October 2017, city officials unveiled new street blades that co-name the northwest corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street after the two men.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• [Updating] Explosion on 2nd Avenue and East 7th Street

• How displaced residents are faring after the 2nd Avenue gas explosion

• Moving on — and feeling lucky — after the 2nd Avenue explosion

• Updated: 2nd Ave. explosion — landlord, 3 others charged with 2nd degree manslaughter; showed 'a blatant and callous disregard for human life'

• RIP Nicholas Figueroa

• RIP Moises Locón

• Exclusive: 2nd Avenue explosion sites have a new owner

(Re)openings: Borrachito on A; Lost City Oyster House on C

Borrachito, the speakeasy-style taqueria in the back of the Garret East, is now the main event here at 206 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

The taco bar switched places with the bar and is now serving from a to-go window (there's curbside dining too from 2-11 p.m.).

Time Out has a preview of the remodeled space, which opened yesterday, right here.

H/T Vinny & O!

→→→



The Lost Lady, a nautica-themed bar, was said to close earlier this summer after nearly three years at 171 Avenue C between 10th Street and 11th Street.

However, the space has been reimagined as Lost City Oyster House — described as an "oyster house & beer garden." You can find the menu here.

Lost City comes from Robert Ceraso and Jason Mendenhall, the co-owners of Good Night Sonny and the Wild Son on First Avenue. Their other Avenue C venture, the Wayland, is temporarily closed after running afoul of the SLA.

A return visit

It has been a few weeks since we've seen any of the juvenile red-tailed hawks in Tompkins Square Park... until tonight, when Steven spotted one of Amelia and Christo's 2020 offspring making a return visit...



... doing a load of laundry and looking for the cans of beer stashed in the bushes...



Goggla recently noted that the juveniles are still in the area, but mostly spending time outside the Park.

"The young hawks have stuck around the park much longer this season than I expected, so seeing them throughout the summer has been a welcome gift."

Check out her site for more August photos of the juveniles.

Noted

A piece of cardboard with a message spotted along the Bowery near First Street:

New York City: The Home of the Nosiest People Worldwide!

And some detail, courtesy of EV Arrow (who is still here!)...

Longtime counterman ponders life after B&H

[Photo from 2016 by Grant Shaffer]

In an Instagram post last week, B&H Dairy on Second Avenue outlined the hardships of running a small business during the COVID-19 crisis.

The lunch counter's post also noted that they had to lay off Mahmoud "Mike" Tarabih, the popular cook who was a familiar presence here for years behind the counter. "Though he had been with B&H for 14 years, he was one of our most junior employees," per the B&H Instagram post. "Many of our remaining staff are the sole breadwinner for their families."

In a widely circulated story published yesterday at Grub Street, Rachel Handler spoke with Mike about the layoff, the challenges of finding restaurant work during the pandemic and what might be next for him and his family, including two children.

"I don’t know what I am gonna do now. Who’s going to take care of the kids? I worked out a schedule with their principal [that matched] my schedule," he said. "If I start a new job, who will take care of them?"

Here are a few excerpts from the piece titled "He Fed the East Village for 14 Years. Now He's Wondering What’s Next."

It is essentially impossible to think of the East Village without thinking of Mahmoud "Mike" Tarabih, the self-described "grill man" at neighborhood mainstay B&H Dairy. Tarabih has been crafting tuna melts and greasy omelettes while also serving as B&H’s de facto, wildly charming host for the last 14 years, remembering the names and orders of every single person who's ever visited the kosher diner.

On how he got the job:

We know each other from back home, from Egypt. [Co-owner Fawzy Abdelwahed] is my friend from back home, same city. When I came to New York, he invited me to see the place. I liked the place, and when I started, I loved the place 100 percent. It was not like customers, it was like family. Everyone asks each other what’s going on in their lives. Nobody was like, "I'm the boss,” you know? That's why I loved my place. I did my best. I worked from my heart. When I cook, I cook from my soul.

On remembering everyone's name and order:

When you love what you’re doing, it’s like a child. I have two children at home, this [job] is my third child. I love it. I just love it. Every part. I come in the morning, I smell the food fresh, and I finish my day, I say, “Thank God, everybody went home happy. Everybody is happy.”

On finding a new job:

I’m looking. I talk to my friends. But nothing is happening. I'll take any job. I don't care. I've already called a lot of people, but a lot of places are still closed. We’ll see. Thank God, I have a lot of friends to help me. I'm happy. The only problem is I lost my job during a bad time. I have two families to support.

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One of his longtime customers, Morrigan Burke-Martin, helped Tarabih set up his own GoFundMe to offset the costs of raising two children and supporting his extended family in Egypt. The crowdfunding campaign is at this link.

Free groceries this afternoon at Trinity's Services and Food for the Homeless

In addition to their normal pantry service, Trinity's Services and Food for the Homeless (SAFH) on Ninth Street at Avenue B is providing an additional free food distribution this afternoon.



From 3 to 5 p.m., SAFH will have groceries for 300 families. No registration required.

Trinity's SAFH — at the Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish — has been serving meals to those in need for more than 30 years.